SCHOTT Solar CSP GmbH filed a lawsuit against Huiyin and US SkyFuel

The German receiver tubes manufacturer filed a lawsuit in a court of Denver, US, against the Chinese company and US SkyFuel.

According to a press release issued by SCHOTT Solar CSP, “there has been an infringement of one of its patents regarding the design of solar receivers”. Huiyin and US SkyFuel “are alleged to have imported and installed infringing products manufactured by Huiyin in a CSP plant located in the US”.

The receiver tubes are used in parabolic trough and linear Fresnel-based plants. Schott believes these companies have infringed its intellectual property (IP) rights regarding the patent No. 7,013,887, which refers to the design of the receiver ends.

Patrick Markschläger, Managing Director of SCHOTT Solar CSP, indicated that: “We have our Intellectual Property protected in strategic countries worldwide and are not willing to forfeit any rights associated with this status. If our IP is infringed upon, we have the responsibility to pursue this, wherever, whenever and against whomever”.

Just recently, the company concluded deliveries to the Noor I project in Morocco, as well as the Bokpoort project in South Africa. It also received the “Industry Choice Award” at the CSP Today Sevilla 2014 conference in Spain.

Ain Beni Mathar hybrid solar-gas plant awarded by the African Development Bank

The Moroccan hybrid solar-gas plant developed by Abengoa received the third prize for excellence granted by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The awarding ceremony took place on 11 November 2014, at the AfDB’s headquarters in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.

The 2014 AfDB Presidential Awards for Excellence recognize the three best projects financed by the bank over the year. In the 2014 edition, the first prize went to the “Nairobi-Thika Highway improvement project” in Kenya. The second prize was awarded to the “Nsele-Lufimi and Kwango-Kenge Road Rehabilitation project” in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The Ain Beni Mathar hybrid solar-gas plant was opened on 12 May 2010. According to a written statement issued by Abengoa, “it is the first solar thermal plant in Africa” and “the first to start commercial operation with Integrated Solar Combine Cycle (ISCC) technology in the world”.

California funds two research projects to improve CSP plants’ performance

The California Energy Commission (CEC) has approved the first US $10 million to fund the Electric Program Investment Charge (EPIC) research and development projects.

According to a press release issued by the CEC, the “EPIC investments are focused on electricity-related innovation research to find new energy solutions and bringing clean energy ideas to the marketplace”.

The companies and research institutions that were granted funds for developing CSP-related programmes are:

• Halotechnics and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). They “will receive USD 1.5 million each to advance thermal energy storage technologies” in order to “help cut costs and improve the efficiency of thermal energy storage at CSP plants”.

• Itron, Inc., which has been awarded “USD 1 million to use high-fidelity solar forecasting to predict load impacts on California's electricity grid and reduce solar integration costs”.

• The University of California, San Diego (UCSD), which will invest USD 1 million “to use advanced solar forecasting to optimize campus distributed energy resources on the UCSD campus”. It was also granted another USD 1 million “to address solar energy forecasting for large-scale CSP and photovoltaic plants”.

Germany to help finance Cerro Dominador CSP plant in Chile

German state-owned bank KfW will provide a EUR 100 million (USD 123 million) loan for the construction of Cerro Dominador, a 110 MW CSP plant developed by Abengoa in Chile.

According to a written statement issued by the bank last week, “the programme is part of the German Climate Technology Initiative (DKTI) and is financed with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB)”.

"The construction of the first CSP plant in Chile is an important step on the way towards Chile's energy turnaround, which should also make a significant contribution towards introducing this innovative technology in Chile and the surrounding region. Promoting the expansion of solar energy in Chile should help the country achieve an independent and sustainable energy supply, as well as to global climate protection", indicated Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, member of the Executive Board of KfW Group in the press release.

The European Commission will provide an additional EUR 15 million through the KfW from its Latin America Investment Facility aid program.

With the sunniest desert on earth, a windswept coast and limited fossil-fuel supplies, Chile is among the world’s busiest markets for new renewable-energy projects. Developers are pursuing contracts to deliver electricity to mines run by companies including Anglo American Plc. and BHP Billiton Ltd., which consume one-third of the country’s power.

The CSP plant is being built in the Atacama Desert, in the north of the country and commercial operation is expected to commence in 2018.

Ingeteam awarded engineering contract for CSP plant in China

Spanish company Ingeteam Power Technology has been awarded a contract to supply engineering services for the construction of the Qinghai Delingha plant in China.

The project, developed by the China General Nuclear Power Group, is a 50 MW parabolic trough located in the Qinghai Province, in the Northwest of the country. Ingeteam Power Technology will carry out the basic design of the project, with seven hours of thermal storage.